When your eyes first open in the morning, what do you do? Many of us wake up to alarm clocks and hop right out of bed, likely still a little jangly from the quick transition from sleep to wakefulness.
Many of us plug into the day immediately by glancing at our phones within seconds of waking, and eventually stumble toward the coffee.
For me, laying there for a while, just being quiet in the stillness, is one of life’s true luxuries. It’s a special time; there’s not a lot of internal monkey chatter yet, and thus no planning, worrying, or stress.
It’s the ideal time to simply breathe, slowly and easily. It’s the deepest relaxation there is, and it’s easy to feel at peace. Nothing to think about yet (all that will come flooding in soon) … it’s plenty to just notice the inhales and exhales. I like listening for sounds, too — you can notice sounds appearing in consciousness just like you notice your breath.
What’s important to note is that you’re not really doing, let alone controlling, anything — you’re simply there, lying in bed, doing nothing but noticing breaths and sounds.
This is also the ideal time to just let go. Is there anything you might want to let go? We all hold resentments, regrets, and grudges that no longer serve us. This is an excellent time to let go of those, too. Or at least set the intention of doing so. The sense of serenity that follows can be profound. You can notice that feeling of peace, too, just like you notice breaths and sounds.
When you do get out of bed and officially start your day, you take all this goodness with you.
I try for 10 minutes of this each morning upon waking. They are often the best ten minutes of my entire day.
